The German Air Force’s A400M military transport aircraft underwent maintenance at one of the hangars of the US Air Force’s (USAF) 167th Airlift Wing.

Located at the Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the 167th Airlift Wing is a unit of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Assigned to the 62nd Air Transport Wing of the German Air Force, the Airbus A400M aircraft facilitates the transportation of cargo from the country to the US.

It has been shifted for maintenance to the USAF hangar after the aircraft landed with a propeller blade seal leak at the Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

As the hangar space at the airport was occupied with other aircraft maintenance work, the A400M was moved to the 167th Airlift Wing where one of the blades to the number four propeller of the aircraft was replaced due to the leak.

“The work on the project was carried out after receiving approval from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and Headquarters Air Force sought from the 167th Airlift Wing.”

The repair was carried out by maintenance crew who flew to the US from Germany, in collaboration with the Airmen of the USAF unit.

167th Maintenance Group commander colonel Christian Cunningham said: “Because we were close and had the facilities and capability, it made sense for us to receive the aircraft.”

The work on the project was carried out after receiving approval from the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and Headquarters Air Force sought from the 167th Airlift Wing.

To this end, the German Embassy and the airman at the German Armed Forces Command were working with the Pentagon, NGB, the 167th Information Protection Office for a Foreign Visitor Request, Customs and Border Patrol, as well as the 167th Airfield Management to obtain the proper clearances.